47. Clone, New world and Immortals

Rain fell as if marking the beginning of a tragic tale. It started with the birth of a boy named Yun Ting, born into a merchant family. As he grew, when he reached the age of two, his mother introduced him to a girl of his age named Wang Yunxi. The two quickly became inseparable friends. Over the years, their bond deepened, and when Yun Ting turned ten, his father revealed that Wang Yunxi was more than just a childhood friend—she was his fiancée. They were destined to marry when she turned eighteen. Yun Ting, already deeply in love with her, was overjoyed at the news, and from his perspective, Wang Yunxi seemed equally happy.

During these years, Yun Ting began learning martial arts and joined a local gym called Spring Pavilion. Under the guidance of his teacher, he trained diligently and eventually broke through to the Strength Realm—the highest level of martial arts, according to his teacher. One week before Wang Yunxi's eighteenth birthday, the date set for their marriage, Yun Ting decided to give her a special gift. He ventured into the city's forest to hunt a white-furred fox, hoping it would be the perfect present.

However, in the depths of the forest, Yun Ting was ambushed by three men clad in black cloaks. Initially, he wasn't afraid—after all, he had reached the ultimate realm of martial arts. But as the fight unfolded, he quickly realized he was no match for any of them. The men seemed to toy with him, their attacks playful, as if they enjoyed watching him struggle. Each time Yun Ting saw an opportunity to escape, one of the men would block his path, taunting him.

Desperate, he noticed a large hole leading underground and, with no other choice, leapt into it. In his haste, he hadn't considered the depth of the hole, and upon landing, he felt excruciating pain as several bones in his body shattered. The fall left him grievously injured, his life hanging by a thread. Yet even in the face of death, Yun Ting's overpowering will to survive kept him clinging to life.

Rain realized what had happened—the boy's soul barrier was where his thoughts had entered, triggered because the boy was on the brink of death and could have passed at any moment. The infusion of Rain's thoughts, combined with his soul energy, extended Yun Ting's life by several hours, allowing his body time to begin healing itself and pulling him back from the edge. The force of Rain's thoughts entering the boy's soul space overwhelmed Yun Ting's fading consciousness, causing Rain's thoughts to take over, turning Yun Ting's body into Rain's clone in another world.

Rain, now in full control of Yun Ting's body, opened his eyes and examined his surroundings. He was encased by rock walls on all sides, except for a cave opening in one. Attempting to stand, he realized his body refused to move; many bones were still mending, leaving him immobilized. His stomach twisted with hunger, and his body ached from thirst. Rain knew he had to accelerate his healing, or he would succumb to starvation and dehydration before his body recovered.

Delving into Yun Ting's memories, Rain searched for how the boy had survived his life-threatening injuries. He found the answer in the local martial practices. Here, martial arts were divided into two realms: **Gathering Strength Realm** and **Strength Realm**. In the Gathering Strength Realm, warriors gather strength throughout their bodies, eventually unlocking their spiritual space to advance to the Strength Realm. In the Strength Realm, the body's energy enters the soul space and merges with soul energy to form a new force known as "true energy," which possesses healing properties.

Rain now understood how Yun Ting's body had survived; his own soul energy, entering the boy's soul space, had amplified the creation of true energy, fuelling the healing process for life-threatening injuries. Returning to Yun Ting's soul space, he observed the nearly depleted pool of true energy beneath the body's soul.

Rain quickly shifted back to his own soul space, instructing the Chip to halt its current task of learning the Life Vine Shield technique and instead begin gradually channelling soul energy to the black door. He specified that this flow should stop once his soul energy reached 30 percent.

With the energy transfer in progress, Rain returned to the clone's soul space, watching as true energy began to replenish. Taking control of the body, he carefully directed the healing, prioritizing fractures and injuries that would allow him to regain mobility. First, he mended the bones in his legs, then the hip, and finally the right hand. As the energy flow stopped, Rain assessed his progress, satisfied he had stabilized enough to attempt movement. He controlled the body to stand, wincing with pain as he rose unsteadily. Despite the remaining injuries, he realized climbing the rock walls to escape would be impossible, so he began walking deeper into the cave, hoping to find food or water.

After five minutes of trudging through the narrow passRain then settled into meditation, channeling his focus to heal the rest of the body's injuries. As he delved into Yun Ting's memories, he was intent on understanding the practice system of this world. He soon discovered that the self-healing ability granted by true energy was unique and not present in all Strength Realm martial artists.

In the Gathering Strength Realm, there was no such ability; its primary purpose was merely to regulate bodily energy and provide immunity to minor illnesses. But the true energy of the Strength Realm held unique capabilities, specifically due to the cultivation methods used to reach this stage. Yun Ting had practiced an exercise called the *Spring Rain Sword Art*, a technique he learned at his gym. Mastering this art granted two unique abilities: first, it allowed the true energy to heal the body, and second, it enabled control of true energy to form small, sword-like projections resembling spring rain, used to strike at enemies.

Rain uncovered a memory of a conversation with Yun Ting's teacher, occurring shortly after Yun Ting had reached the Strength Realm. When Yun Ting had asked if the Strength Realm marked the pinnacle of martial arts, his teacher had solemnly replied, "Yes." This answer left Yun Ting feeling dejected and disheartened. Seeing his disappointment, the teacher had shared a more hopeful message, telling him, "There are immortals in this world."

Though Yun Ting had heard rumors of immortals before, he dismissed them as mere legends. Most "immortals" he'd encountered were ordinary people with clever tricks to deceive others, reinforcing his disbelief. Still, he asked his teacher if he had ever seen such beings. The teacher admitted he hadn't, but he was convinced of their existence, pointing instead to the mystery of the *Everbright Stars*. 

Rain learned that these Everbright Stars, eight in number, were visible even in daylight; not even the sun's glare could dim their brilliance. To explain further, the teacher had retrieved some ancient books, showing Yun Ting a passage stating that 10,000 years ago, there had been only three Everbright Stars. Another page explained that the latest eight stars had appeared around 400 years ago. After reading the accounts from various authors, all of whom wrote the same story, Yun Ting had somewhat believed his teacher.

Reflecting on these memories, Rain looked beyond his soul space into what he called the "Soul World," a place where the souls of everyone appeared to converge. There, above the "Soul Continent," of this world, he noticed eight radiant soul spheres glowing high above. Their light extended over a dark, strange ocean near the continent, their brilliance transforming the black waters into a silvery gray.

With his injuries fully healed, Rain felt ready to leave. He straightened his clothes and washed his face and body with the energy-rich water from the glowing pond. He noticed his long hair, matted and dirty, hanging down to his back. Unsure of how many days had passed since he fell into the cave—and whether the three men were still waiting outside—he decided to be cautious. Exiting the cave, he found his sword and used it to cut his hair to neck length to bring a slight change of his appereance. 

He then climbed out of the cave, emerging into the forest and look carefully each side but found no one. The sounds of animals calling, birds chirping, and insects buzzing greeted him, along with the warmth of the sun. Rain looked toward the sun to gauge the direction of his city, then carefully began walking cautiously westward. After about an hour, he emerged from the forest to see farmlands surrounding a city enclosed by protective walls. He made his way to the road leading into the city, watching as people came and went, and then followed them through the city gates.

After entering the city, Rain chose not to go home, wary that the enemies of the body he now inhabited might come after him or his family. Instead, he found a respectable inn, rented a room, and asked a young boy working there to prepare a bath. Rain handed the boy some money to buy a change of clothes and a hat with a veil to cover his face. 

While he was in the bath, he heard the boy call out, announcing he had returned with the items. Before the boy left, Rain asked if anything interesting had happened in the city recently. The boy's eyes lit up, and he eagerly shared the latest news: "An immortal came to the city to take Miss Wang Yunxi back to the place where immortals live!" 

Intrigued, Rain's thoughts whirled. "I heard Miss Wang Yunxi had a fiancé—what happened to him?" he asked. 

The boy replied, "Master Yun Ting is probably filled with regret now."

Rain pressed further, "What happened to him?"

The boy explained, "Master Yun Ting vanished ten days ago, leaving behind a letter in his room saying he was breaking the engagement with Miss Yunxi."

Rain responded with a simple, "Oh, I see." 

The boy went on, "Miss Yunxi was heartbroken. She loves Master Yun very much, and on what was supposed to be their wedding day, she stayed in his room for two days before leaving yesterday. Now, every boy in the city wishes they could be Master Yun, while everyone else curses him for being so heartless."

Rain nodded, signaling to the boy, "Alright, you can go now."

After the boy left, Rain emerged from the bath, donned his new clothes, and sat on the bed, deep in thought. The memory of the three men who had nearly killed him lingered, and he surmised they might be immortals. Going through Yun Ting's memories, Rain recalled that Yun Ting had not left any letter, which made him wonder who had created the rumors. Curious about the boy's family and how they were faring after Yun Ting's disappearance, Rain decided he would return home under cover of night to check on them. Now that Yun Ting's body was his clone, Rain felt a newfound responsibility toward the boy's family and loved ones.

He lay back on the bed, he rested, patiently waiting for night to fall.